A Solution to Food Stamp Fraud that Both Sides Can Agree On [Reader Post]

Every few weeks or so a new story pops up in the news regarding Food Stamp (Or SNAP, as is the preferred name among bureaucrats) fraud. We hear how in addition to being used for food as intended, these SNAP cards are now being used for some more… interesting purchases. Even your most hard core bleeding heart lefty can’t approve of these cards being used at strip clubs (as I resist the overwhelming urge to make a bad joke about places where the cards could be swiped) and would prefer that these cards were actually used for food. As our “Food Stamp President” continues to build on his accomplishment of expanding dependence on government, I’ve come up with a way to help those in need that will satisfy both conservatives and leftists.

I never thought I’d say this, but my inspiration comes from none other than… Michael Bloomberg! Yes, the ultimate Nanny Mayor who finds no element of New Yorkers’ lives too small for him to intrude is just the man to run a pilot program for Food Stamp Reform! The problem with using these EBT cards, or with the stamps themselves, is that they are too easily bartered or exchanged for goods other than their intended use. So let’s program the cards to only be allowed to purchase nutritious food, and nothing else. In broad strokes, here is how it would work:

Extra bar coding for approved foods will tag them as acceptable for purchase, such as fruits, vegetables, some grains, milk, flour, etc.

A central database will track how many calories are contained in each good bought, and estimate how many servings each item constitutes

Every recipient will first have a mandatory physical, at which point their weekly calorie ration will be determined

Once the weekly allotment is reached, the card will no longer function until the following week

Balances will be cleared out at the end of the week, thus preventing overeating, and any unused balances would be returned to the government to help support the program

To prevent fraud, every recipient will have to show a government issued photo ID to make purchases. If they do not already have one the program will provide one at no extra cost to the recipient1

Only nutritious items can be purchased, and items that have some nutritional value but may have other issues (cheese, pork, etc) can be rationed as well

Let’s go “Full Bloomberg” on recipients as well – no salt, no sugar, no trans fats, no soda at all, or anything else that the food morality police see fit to ban

Once this pilot program is complete in New York the program can be rolled out nationwide

For those in remote areas where it would be cost prohibitive to purchase food only through government approved centers reimbursement could be requested through simple forms modeled after other efficient government programs.

We can take this further to force those on food stamps, welfare, or other government programs to push other leftist agendas as well:

Mandatory physical exams, with more frequent ones for any recipients deemed obese, to be accompanied with mandatory physical fitness programs

We can improve the health of our neediest citizens and lower health care costs at the same time. Remember, if people want to consume additional food they are free to do so. Despite the occasional silly exercise in “surviving” on food stamps let’s not forget that the “S” in SNAP stands for “supplemental”. All that this reform will cost its participants in return is surrendering personal freedom, but if it’s for their own good who could reasonably object? Keep in mind, participation in these government programs is not mandatory, so we can attach conditions that will improve participants’ lives anyway. And if any of these program’s recipients don’t like these conditions, they can choose between not participating and the security of living as wards of the left.

It’s a win-win all around. Conservatives get reforms that will incentivize people to get off of the government dole. Leftists get a crop of people who will freely submit to whatever control the powers that be want over their lives. The poor who need these programs will see their overall health improve as a result of the reforms, and taxpayers get a much better value for their money. Who could possibly object?

1 Added bonus! Now all of our nation’s poor will have valid photo ID’s that can be used for voting purposes. At last the left will be out of excuses for calling efforts to curb their “Vote early and vote often” efforts racist!

About Brother Bob

Blogging by the credo of "Making the world a more offensive place, one blog post at a time", Brother Bob started writing posts around the beginning of the Obama presidency over at Brother Bob's Blog. A born-again Existentialist and self-professed libertarian with conservative tendencies, he has ironically chosen to live in the Washington, DC area - deep behind enemy lines. He has always loved history, and spent eight years volunteering as a tour guide on weekends, giving over 200 tours to roughly 2,500 mostly foreign guests. His tours were highlighted by stories generally not found in the history books or most other tours, such as the importance of the Battle if Antietam, the origins or Arlington Cemetery, and dispelling the myths of FDR's New Deal.
Although his favorite subject to blog about is Economics, as seen in his Economics for Politicians series, his posts try to address angles that other conservative writers and the mainstream media (naturally!) miss. "There's no point in putting up a post on a subject that someone smarter than me has already written". He believes in the "Happy Warrior" approach, and tries to inject humor in his posts, sometimes successfully. Two such examples are his posts comparing the modern left to the horrible Star Wars prequels, and analyzing the laments of a DC woman in search of a feminist boyfriend.
Brother Bob lives with his very patient wife known as Sister Babe, and their fantastic son. Little Bob. Little Bob is also the reason that being a tour guide came to an end, as spending Saturdays raising a son takes priority over giving lectures to foreign visitors on the folly of Keynesian economics.
BB is also grateful for the opportunity to take his place among the outstanding writers at Flopping Aces, appreciates every person who takes the time to read his posts, and especially those who join him in the conversation in the comments.

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17 Responses to “A Solution to Food Stamp Fraud that Both Sides Can Agree On [Reader Post]”

MM

jess

I disagree. All these nutritious foods are highly expense. Yes there are some who abuse food stamps but for the ones that need it and are struggling to get off of food stamps, they can not afford such foods.

Richard Wheeler

BrotherBob Whenever I feel I’m close to embracing Conservatism,generally after reading the wisdomed input of Mata,Word or Aye I pause to read the thoughts of Dr.John, Ret05 and yourself.
Rather quickly I return to sanity and remember exactly why I remain a Democrat.
Thanks for that.
Semper Fi

Skookum

There are millions struggling to survive the Obama Economy. Many struggle with the moral dilemma of swallowing pride and dignity before applying for aid or food stamps. Others look upon the aid as a means to cope with life’s harsh realities under a moribund economy, being grateful to their savior for his blessings of chump change in exchange for the loyalty of votes. Whether you have people in the depths of despair or faithful followers of Obama, they need these stamps to survive.

It is the criminal element that irritates those of us feeling the pinch and not receiving or eligible for Obama Chump Change or the tens of millions reserved for his cronies and bundlers.

Oh, we resent the buying of votes with food stamps, but it is politics according to the Liberal Playbook and it isn’t illegal. In fact, without food stamps in the Obama Economy, there would be rioting.

Being willfully stupid is not a crime, but welfare fraud should be considered a crime.

retire05

Whenever I feel I’m close to embracing Conservatism,generally after reading the wisdomed input of Mata,Word or Aye I pause to read the thoughts of Dr.John, Ret05 and yourself.
Rather quickly I return to sanity and remember exactly why I remain a Democrat.

Bull. You remain a Democrat because you support those whose agendas include same-sex marriage, abortion pretty much on demand, redistribution of wealth, higher taxes, larger government and more government involvement in our daily lives.

The least you could do is be honest about it. I seriously doubt that the comments of just three people on a blog makes you stay a Democrat.

FAITH7

@ Retire05 – My parents were ‘Kennedy era’ Blue Dog Democrats…(very few remaining if any)… still they were as a Party, Fiscally Conservative and concerned about our nation’s social issues…the mentally ill, handicapped, rural poor…etc..

I sat on the fence for many years…I have brothers who love history and it rubbed off…I also met my husband, we had a lot of political debates back and forth…and in the end it was he who yanked me to the ‘other’ side ( lol )…he also introduced me to Sean, Levin, and Rush…

Looking back then ahead to the present…I do not see a “Democratic Party” of ‘old’… I see a Hijacked “Democratic Party” that I do not recognize… And, Kennedy?? Wow! Had he been alive today, HE would be considered a Right Wing Extremist!!!

Seriously… In Kennedy’s words: ” The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.” source: http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/speeches/John_F_Kennedy/5.htm

Richard Wheeler

@FAITH7: I assure you JFK was not a Blue Dog Dem. He and his brothers stood for Civil Rights, Human Rights, Women’s Rights and “The free society that cannot care for the many who are poor cannot protect the few who are rich.” JFK inaugural speech Jan 1961– He’d call himself a Liberal if alive today.

UpChuck.Liberals

@Richard Wheeler: I’d strongly suggest you separate JFK from his brothers. He was, indeed to the right of LBJ and so far to the right of our Communist in Chief as to be called a good Tea Party Member. His brothers were somewhere between Socialists and Liberals, not to mention one of them was a murderer.

ilovebeeswarzone

Brother Bob
thank you , a good POST,
yesterday ,HANNITY at FOX had a full show about the fraud
and history of food stamp,
it was so revealing, and so surprising,
there is lots of money made because of it,
the big BANKS AT WALLSTREET yes profit from it,
and the GOVERNMENT also are pushing it,
there is fraud on all steps up the ladder,
that card is part of it
it’s not check until it come on the PUBLIC EYE.

ilovebeeswarzone

EX GOVERNMENT SCIENTISTS CHARGED
in CANADA,
after one of them was caught trying to smugle
HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS BACTERIA out of the COUNTRY,
former researchers with the CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY
KLAUS NIELSON, and WEI LING YU, charged with a breach of trust
trying to commercialize agency property from a statement from the RCMP,
from 2011 report,
NIELSON face several charges under the import export permits act
the transportation of dangerous act, and the HUMAN PATHOGENE and TOXINS ACT,
he was caught on his way to the OTTAWA AIRPORT LAST OCTOBER
carrying 17 VIALs of what turn out to be LIVE BRUCELLA BACTERIA
that can infect LIVESTOCKS AND HUMAN,
police have not revealed THE INTENDED BUYERS of the material,
or where NIELSON was going,
the other WEI LING YU is still at large believe to be in CHINA,
A CANADA WIDE warrant issue for her arrest,
BRUCELLA PRIMARILY attack livestocks particularly CATTLE
where it cause a condition known as BRUCELLOSIS and can induce spontaneous abortion,
IT CAN ALSO INFECT HUMAN, causing severe seawting and muscle pain
rarely fatal,

Richard Wheeler

@UpChuck.Liberals: JFK SAID “If by a L iberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions,someone who cares about the welfare of the people,their health,their housing,their schools,their jobs,their civil rights and their civil liberties. Someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grip us in our policies abroad. If that is what they mean by a “Liberal”, then I’m proud to say I’M A LIBERAL.”

This repeated Repub. meme that JFK ,if alive today, would be a Repub —laughable.

Skookum

retire05

This repeated Repub. meme that JFK ,if alive today, would be a Repub —laughable

Not so laughable if you consider that JFK was more a traditional liberal, and not the Progressive that plagues the U.S. Congress today. Obama is not a traditional liberal, he is a traditional Progressive, not one and the same.

Read JFK’s speech to the New York businessmen and tell me what part of it Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would agree with.